INVITED PAPER

EXCEED – Excellence Center for Development Cooperation Sustainable Water Management in Developing Countries

Prof. Muefit Bahadir
Technische Universitaet Braunschweig , Germany

Abstract

The Excellence Center for Development Cooperation – Sustainable Water Management in Developing Countries, implemented by the TU Braunschweig together with 23 partner univer-sities in developing countries, is one of five projects on Millennium Development Goals MDG, which were awarded funding with a volume of up to 1 million Euro per year each over a five-year period by the German Ministry for Development Cooperation (BMZ) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
The topic "water" is undeniably at the core of the MDG 7 "Environ¬mental Protection and Sustainab¬ility". 1.2 billion People have no access to drinking water, and 3 billion do not have any sanitary facilities or wastewater disposal. The sustainable use of water is a topic of crucial importance in development cooperation, as it is a core issue in developing countries, but is getting more and more relevant in industrialized countries, as well.
Through its specific study programs and research profile, the TU Braunschweig offers outstand-ing expertise in Sustainable Water Management in Developing Countries. Pioneering research and academic cooperation projects with strategic partners from developing countries in Latin America, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and South-East Asia have been developed with a strong focus on sustainable and transferable solutions for each country's predominant water-related issues.
Based on a world-wide network of 24 partners, who are active in the field of sustainable water management, the Excellence Center will focus on capacity building in developing countries and in Germany through the training of and networking between experts. The Coordinating Unit is located at the TU Braunschweig; three Satellite Centers are established at the Mut'ah University in Karak, Jordan, the Universidad de Guadalajara in Mexico, and the Water Resources Univer-sity in Hanoi, Vietnam. All stake¬holders of development cooperation will benefit from the "think tank" thus generated.
The project partners are aiming at extending the cooperation also to the Sub-Sahara Region in Africa. This presentation given by the project chairman is going to provide an insight into the project's aims and scopes in order to discover interested colleagues from universities of the Sub-Sahara Region and to establish an African Branch of our worldwide network for capacity building through education.

Biography of the Organizer

Prof. Dr. mult. Dr. h.c. Muefit Bahadir obtained his PhD in Chemistry from Bonn University and his Assoc. Prof. from Technische Universitaet Munich in Germany. Since 1989, he is full professor of Environmental Chemistry and Sustainability at the Technische Universitaet Braunschweig. His research interests cover enviromental and sustainable chemistry, ecotoxicology, organic and inorganic residue analyses in soil, water, biota, wastes, and recycling products. Besides his institute, he is currently chairing an international project "Excellence Centre for Development Cooperation - Sustainable Water Management in Developing Countries" with 24 partner institutions in Latin America, Middle East and South-East Asia. Partners from Subsaharan Region are most welcome.